Gilroy
A Gaelic surname usually understood as meaning “red servant” or “red-haired youth’s son,” though older writers offered several competing explanations.
The #8,449 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,963 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The most common explanation in the older sources derives Gilroy from Gaelic forms related to giolla, meaning “servant” or “youth,” plus ruadh, meaning “red” or “red-haired.” That gives a sense such as “red servant,” “red-haired youth,” or “son of the red-haired youth.” Some 19th-century writers also proposed other readings, including “servant of the king,” so the surname’s exact original sense is not entirely settled.
History
The name appears in Irish, Scottish, and Manx contexts, and related forms such as Mac Gilroy, Kilroy, and Mylroi show how widely it circulated and how spelling shifted over time. The celebrated Highland outlaw Gilderoy helped keep the name visible in Scottish tradition. In Ireland, the surname is recorded in several counties, and Manx sources treat it as a contracted form of a Gaelic patronymic.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Manx genealogical sources explain Gilroy as “Red servant,” showing how a single Gaelic nickname could generate several very different surname forms.
From the historical record
“moreland, temp. King John. B.L.G. GILROY. GILRAY. Gael. Gille ruadh or rcy, i. e. "the red lad." The cele- brated Highland freebooter of the XVI. cent., Gilderoy, derived his designation from this source. Arthur says, " Gillc- roimh, a running footman attendant on a Highland chieftain ; or GiUc-rlgh, the ser- vant…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom